The Governor of Niger State, Umaru Mohammed Bago has called on the National Assembly to investigate the alleged mismanagement of N90 billion federal government’s subsidy for the 2024 Hajj operations in Saudi Arabia.
The governor, who spoke to newsmen in Makkah today, June 23, accused the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NACON) of Alleged poor handling of substantial public funds allocated for the annual pilgrimage.
“It is unfortunate, and there is a need for the National Assembly to probe these funds.”
Governor Bago, who expressed concern over the transparency and efficiency of NACON’s financial operations, said that he intends to spearhead efforts within the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) to propose a legislation aimed at dismantling NACON’s operational authority.
“NACON is not helping matters. The government has no business in doing this business.”
He suggested a privatized approach on Hajj operations to ensure better efficiency and accountability in managing of the Hajj affairs.
Governor Bago labelled NACON’s performance during the 2024 Hajj operations as “a resounding failure.”
“In a nutshell, the 2024 Hajj operation is a failure.”
He emphasized the urgent need for systemic reforms to prevent further mismanagement and to safeguard the welfare of pilgrims.
Governor Bago accused NACON of going beyond its regulatory role by taking on operational responsibilities.
“But for us as a country, we have failed. We have failed and continue to fail and fail and fail.”
“NACON is supposed to be a regulator, not an operator. But NACON has decided to continue to play the part of operation and therefore they failed the programme.”
He cited the alleged mishandling of critical tasks including feeding, accommodation, transportation, and medical services.
“In my state, we lost two pilgrims in Medina due to medical issues that proper screening could have prevented. Another four perished due to the heat wave.”
The governor called for an immediate overhaul of NACON’s operations, advocating for state governments to take charge of pilgrimage logistics.
“Let state governments be able to do the right thing – screen their pilgrims, check their health statuses.”
He insisted that NACON is inefficient and cultural insensitive.
